Postgame: Chicago

Riding a two-game winning streak, the Crew came to Toyota Park and came out flat. Chicago took
control with a first-half penalty kick, and although the Crew responded with a game-changing goal
10 seconds into the second half, it was not enough to earn three points.

As he stood outside the visiting locker room, though, Berhalter denied that the Crew’s slow
start had anything to do with its run of woe here – a streak that is now 11 straight league games
without a win (0-6-5).

“I don’t even know the stats,” he said. “I don’t think (that had an impact). l I think today was
a perfect opportunity to get three points. That’s nothing against Chicago, but we were there. We
were in position to do it.”

Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson was not tested in the first half. He made no saves, while the
Crew’s Steve Clark made two. That flipped in the second half, when Johnson made four saves – two of
the game-changing variety – while Clark was rarely challenged.

So why the slow start?

“It was just too stagnant in the first half,” midfielder Ben Speas said. “We didn’t really have
much going. That’s on all of us. In the second half we came out and really pushed it and got the
goal right away. I thought we were really pushing hard to get the second one. We were really
looking. Had a couple good chances. Their keeper made some nice saves. We pushed, but we wish we
could’ve come away with three.”

Berhalter said the halftime talk was as much about passion as it was about tactics.

“We identified spots that we knew that guys could get the ball in and be dangerous,” he said. “
They were wide open. We just weren’t finding them in the first half. We were giving the ball away
and our main principle is taking care of the ball and we weren’t doing that. We have to be patient
and find those gaps between the midfield line and the defensive line more towards the inside and
then we can turn and play from there.

“Besides tactics, to me it was the will. It was the will of the guys, the belief of the guys and
I missed that in the first half and that’s what we communicated to them at halftime: listen, you’ve
got to show more. It’s not good enough.”

Speas said the anger wasn’t only coming from the Crew’s coach.

“It wasn’t just Gregg, it was everyone,” he said. “We just wanted to play better. We knew we
could play better. We wanted to come out in the second half and show how we could play. Right away
we wanted to have energy and we were fortunate enough to get the goal. We kept pushing. I wish we
could’ve gotten the next one.”

And the difference in the second half?

“It was energy,” Finlay said. “Commitment. Belief. All those things. We came out and we were
flat and that’s the kind of stuff we can’t do. We’ve got to get rid of that.”

QuicklySince the World Cup break, the Crew has treated its opening kickoff as a long-distance set
piece. Tonight, it paid off with a goal 10 seconds into the second half. Wil Trapp’s long ball
sailed over the head of Adam Bedell, but Finlay redirected it back centrally and around Speas
before finding Federico Higuain.

From there, Higuain notched his team-leading eighth goal of the season and put the momentum
firmly on the side of the visitors.

“We’ve been working on it and I think it’s something we focus on getting early pressure in the
game,” Berhalter said. “If we had the kickoff in the first half it probably would’ve been pretty
similar. The second half we had it, we were behind and we wanted to get that early pressure.”

Said Speas, “I think the ball went over Adam’s head, Ethan got it and touched it and it went
right by me and then Pipa was right behind me. It’s nice. It brings it back to 1-1 and now we’ve
got them on their heels a little bit and can go at them a little bit more.”

Finlay described it as a team goal.

“Adam went up and challenged for the ball and it went over him but he did well to go up and
distract (Fire defender Jeff) Larentowicz,” he said. “I flicked it on and the guy overplayed it.
Pipa got open in the middle and as usual he’s calm and collected and finished the ball away. To
score 10 seconds into the half, it was a huge lift for us but 40-some-plus minutes we weren’t able
to get the goal.”

PenaltyAfter a Crew attack fizzled without generating a shot, the Fire took the advantage on a
counter. Attacking with numbers along the right channel, Quincy Amarikwa fed midfielder Matt Watson
from just past midfield. With Crew defenders Giancarlo Gonzalez and Tyson Wahl retreating, Watson
took a touch and sent the ball wide to Grant Ward, who was isolated on Wahl with left back Waylon
Francis trailing behind.

When Ward sent in his right-footed cross two steps into the penalty area, it struck the upper
part of Wahl’s bicep. Wahl wagged his finger once after the whistle blew and was embraced by two
teammates, but the call would stand.

“Honestly, I haven’t seen anything of it so I can’t comment on it,” Berhalter said. “I need to
look at it again. I didn’t even ask (Tyson). I could ask him, but what’s that going to change in
terms of the game? I didn’t even ask him at halftime.”

I felt that the official hesitated before whistling the penalty, and Crew midfielder Tony Tchani
brought that up unprompted.

“I didn’t see Tyson extend his hand, because if the guy extends his hand you can call that,” he
said. “I feel like the ref probably got caught up by the fans because when that happened the fans
went nuts. I feel like he stopped for a second. He didn’t call it right away. If it was a PK then
you call it the first time. You don’t hesitate.”

As Magee lined up his attempt, Crew goalkeeper Steve Clark came out to the ball and appeared to
say something. Undeterred, Magee fired to his right as Clark dove to his right and the Fire had the
lead in the 37th minute. Clark is now 1 for 3 in stopping penalty kicks this season.

Clark said he was trying to psych Magee out.

“We knew what he was going to do, but he changed it,” he said.

RightBerhalter shuffled his starting defenders and started captain Michael Parkhurst at right back
for only the second time this season with Wahl pairing with Gonzalez in the middle. It was Wahl’s
fifth start of the year and eighth appearance overall.

Parkhurst looked to suffer an injury to his left shoulder during the first half, and he was
subbed off early for only the second time all season. I asked Berhalter about Parkhurst’s health
after the game, and he said, “I think he’s OK. He should be fine.”

With Josh Williams sidelined as he recovers from surgery to treat a blood clot that included
removing a rib, Chad Barson has started the last four games at right back.

Why make the change?

“You see when he gets forward he’s accurate in his passing, he’s calm in his passing,” Berhalter
said. “I thought we just needed a little bit more accuracy from that position.”

Tchani said much of the Crew focus was on carefully defending Magee.

“We knew that Mike Magee is a strong guy and he always wants contact,” he said. “We know we have
to be careful because he is very strong but if you go for a 50-50 and touch him, he’s either going
to flop or win or do something. Because he’s a little guy working hard, the referee always thinks
that the bigger guy commits the foul. Tonight we didn’t really get any calls for us but we don’t
have to blame it on the referee. We created our chances but we just couldn’t finish. Hats off to
Sean Johnson tonight.”

NothingAlthough today was obviously a game day, the secondary transfer window closes Wednesday so I
asked Berhalter if the Crew had made any signings today.

“No, unfortunately we didn’t, but it was concentrated on the game day today,” he said. “No
signing today.”

Quotable“A draw is good but you’re playing against teams who are fighting for playoff spots as well
and every point matters. I think we’re disappointed with the result. We had our opportunities and
our chances and when you don’t take them you suffer the consequences.” – Finlay